Volatility is back on Dalal Street, after a couple of months of up move. Investors are wondering if there are places to go when the market goes down. Though, traditionally, they have found defensive bets in information technology, pharma and fast- moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, this time it is different. IT shares are battered, like their global peers. Pharma shares have been trading weak. No wonder investors are more focused on shares that benefit from rising consumption, whose fortunes are more aligned with the domestic economy, and are relatively less volatile. Consumption stocks are seen as secular growth stories as the Indian middle class expands and consumption levels rise. These stocks are spread across sectors such as FMCG, automobiles, consumer durables, telecom, healthcare, textiles, services and hotels. The Nifty 100 Low Volatility 30 Index offers some such shares.
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There are eight smart beta funds (four ETFs, three index funds and an in-house FoF) that track either the Nifty100 Low Volatility 30 Index or the S&P BSE Low Volatility Index as their benchmarks. These schemes offer a portfolio of less-volatile stocks. For instance, the selection of securities and its weight in NIFTY100 Low Volatility 30 are based on low volatility. Volatility of the securities is calculated as the standard deviation of daily price returns for the last one year. The least volatile stocks are accorded the highest weightage in the index. Given the relatively less-aggressive investment strategy, these indices have managed to deliver better performance in downturns that help them to outperform the broader market indices with a decent margin over the long run. For instance, performance, as measured by the five-year rolling return calculated from data of the last 15 years, shows that the NIFTY100 Low Volatility 30 TRI gave a compounded annualised return of 15.5 percent, while the Nifty 50 TRI delivered 11.6 percent. Here, we have shortlisted 10 stocks that have consistently been part of the Nifty 100 Volatility 30 Index for more than five years till August 2022. The weightage of the stocks were based on the portfolio of the ICICI Pru Nifty 100 Low Volatility 30 ETF. Portfolio data is as of August 31, 2022. Source: ACEMF
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HDFC Bank Weightage: 3.4% Sector: Banks Active equity schemes that held the stock: 360
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Hindustan Unilever Weightage: 4% Sector: Consumer Non-Durables Active equity schemes that held the stock: 197
